Kaylin's Kitchen - Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!

Tue, 05/15/2012 - 6:00am — Kaylin Bade-Reporter

Did you know that dairy farmers played an important role in bringing chocolate to the masses?

According to ffa.org, Milton Hershey is often credited for bringing milk chocolate to the masses in the U.S. For years, he worked at perfecting a viable recipe for making milk chocolate – a process which up to then had been kept a closely guarded secret by the Swiss. Finally, through trial and error, he hit upon the right formula of milk, sugar and cocoa that enabled him to realize his dream of mass-producing and distributing milk chocolate candy. What had once been a luxury for the rich was to become an enjoyment that anyone could afford – the Hershey bar.

On March 2, 1903, he began construction on what was to become the world’s largest chocolate manufacturing plant. The facility, completed in 1905, was designed to manufacture chocolate using the latest mass production techniques. Hershey’s milk chocolate quickly became the first nationally marketed product of its kind.

The factory was in the center of dairy farmland, but with Hershey’s support, houses, businesses, churches, and a transportation infrastructure grew around the plant. Because the land was surrounded by dairy farms, he was able to use fresh milk to mass-produce quality milk chocolate.

Watch an episode of Cool Stuff Being Made below, touring Hershey's factory and watching chocolate Kisses being made.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9"x13" glass baking pan by spraying with vegetable oil. Combine flour, soda, and salt in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beauting well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread evenly into prepared pan, bake for 25 minutes or until evenly dark brown. (Cake may not test done in center, look for coloration.) Cool in pan on wire rack, cut into bars.